Blog

This is a scheduled post, as I am in Swaziland and South Africa until 7th March, and will probably have no internet access. If you do comment, please don’t think I am ignoring you by not replying!

Online, debate still rages about the best way to organise images, and one of these debates usually boils down to whether to let your catalogue software (such as Lightroom) handle everything about your images, or to use some sort of a date or event based system.

I am somewhere in the middle. I use Lightroom for cataloguing, and do enter keywords and metadata, but I also like my file and folder names to be logical, as I am sure that one day I will unfortunately have to move away from Lightroom.

I only really shoot for myself, so don’t have a vast stock library to maintain, and I don’t shoot multiple clients in a short time frame. I feel my naming conventions are more aligned to those who shoot on occasion, rather than every day.

Folder naming

Date based folders are used by some.

Event based folders are used by others.

I am again somewhere in the middle, using date and a simple reference to identify folders.

Date based

This has the benefit of being placed in date order by default, when you look at the folder, but the disadvantage that unless you know the exact date something was taken, then it makes it harder to find an image (outside of the catalogue software). One benefit of date based is that Lightroom (and other software) can create date based folders on import, thus removing one step from the ingestion process.

I will use date based folders when on a long trip, as the software I use for image ingestion when there are large volumes of images (Downloader Pro) makes it trivial to split downloaded images into not just dated folders, but folders based on shooting info such as camera model, file format etc.

Event based

These folders have the advantage that it is immediately clear that in a folder called CLAIRES BIRTHDAY you will find images relating to just that. However, what happens if there are 2 Claire’s? Then what happens when you go to the same 2 parties next year, and the day after. You will end up putting dates on stuff anyway, so it is much better, in my opinion, to start folder names with dates.

My folder naming convention

As a result of combining the above 2 methods, we end up with what I currently use. The method I use enables the folders to list in date order, but also for me to see at a glance what is within them.

Date_Subject

DateRange_Subject

E.g.

20140915_waverley_abbey

20140920_abbeys

20141018-20141026_northern_lights

Of course, for those who allow their catalogue software to manage everything, there is nothing to stop you just putting every single image in a folder called PHOTOS, and use keywords and metadata to sort and search within the software. The main 2 disadvantages with this are;

Folders with several thousand images in them are sluggish to navigate if you ever need to do so out of the software

Unless the image name makes sense, you will struggle to find anything

File naming

As with folder naming, there are several ways to go with file naming.

Camera names

Whilst in theory you could leave the file names as they are when they come out of the camera, I urge you to change them to something at least vaguely intelligible. Searching through a folder with 10000 images, all starting with DSC_ is not going to be fun. Of course, good image management software, such as Lightroom, takes this sort of thing in its stride by reading the metadata and EXIF info to let it sort via the hidden file information.

English names

CLAIRE.jpeg, CLAIRE AND HANNAH.jpeg work for some people, but as soon as you have multiple images in the same folder, then you need some sort of numbering system as well. Of course, if you combine English names with non-dated folders, you need to start thinking about having dates on the filenames, which leads me nicely on to how I name my files.

My file naming convention

Date_Sequence_Subject

20140316_0017_zebra

20140316_0018_road

20140316_0019_kudu

Date is self-explanatory, in the format YYYYMMDD it will enable any file I have taken to list in the correct date order, no matter how many other files happen to be in that folder.
Sequence ensures that all images shot on a certain date will display in the order they were shot, even if there were multiple images taken on the same second (using continuous shutter).
Subject allows for searching by subject, and enables me to ensure I am looking at the right images before opening them. I keep it very basic.
It is trivial to have Lightroom rename my files like this, I have the setup saved as a default. I ensure no spaces, and use underscores as a separator.

Summary

I feel that my file and folder naming offers me the best of both worlds.
I normally manage my images from within Lightroom, so make sure I use all the great features available within the software, such as smart collections, to make managing and grouping images a breeze.
However, by utilising dates and subjects within my folder and file names, I am also able to narrow down what I am looking for outside of the catalogue.
It may seem overkill having dated filenames within dated folders, but the dated folders are for locating a set of images, and the dated filenames ensure filenames are unique, and independent of being in a folder.

This is a scheduled post, as I am in Swaziland and South Africa until 7th March, and will probably have no internet access. If you do comment, please don’t think I am ignoring you by not replying!

Throwback Thursday is a social media phenomenon, where users post an old image of themselves. Rather than subject you to countless images of an even younger me, I have decided that each Thursday I am going to subject you to an older image of mine, and how the image came about.

Red Coral at 47m in Lanzarote

47m is a fair way down underwater, yet the strong sun and clear water mean there is still plenty of light at this depth in Lanzarote. There is not a lot of Red Coral however, as it is quite prized for making in to Jewellery.

May 2007 – This photo was taken on an Olympus C5000 compact camera, it cost me £100 on Ebay, and was in the Olympus housing, which had been discontinued, so that cost me the paltry sum of £50. I had a single, second hand Epoque strobe.

Why so much second hand or discontinued gear? As a new underwater photographer, I didn’t want to be spending several thousand pounds housing my Nikon D70. I also simply couldn’t afford anything better at the time, spending my dive instructor wages mostly on beer!

I cropped the image to a square to remove a distracting area of bare rock. To retake this image, I would go for a wide angle accessory lens, which would let me get much closer, and make the coral ‘pop’ out from the background.

Technically and artistically it could be better, but I was working with the most basic of equipment, so feel reasonably pleased with how it turned out.

This is a scheduled post, as I am in Swaziland and South Africa until 7th March, and will probably have no internet access. If you do comment, please don’t think I am ignoring you by not replying!

My Nikon D7100 is the first camera I have owned which has dual memory card slots, and I will now only consider a primary camera if it has this feature, which I now consider an important part of my backup strategy.

The reason I am so enthusiastic about dual slots are because of the options available in terms of backup and file handling.

Overflow

Quite simply, when Card 1 is full images will be written to Card 2. This is the same as shooting with a single card as there is no inbuilt backup, but if a camera is being left for a long time to do time-lapse, then the possibility of having 2 of the largest SDHC cards currently produced installed to give a 1TB capacity may well appeal to some.

Splitting formats

More interesting, and providing some backup immediately after shooting, is to set slot 1 to NEF (raw files) and slot 2 to JPEG. By shooting RAW+JPEG on the camera, you instantly have a backup, and by setting the format to JPEG Large & Fine, the JPEG produced is of good enough quality for 95% of people.

I know wedding photographers will often do this, changing the RAW card as it fills, and leave the JPEG card in place until after the shoot. Instant backup, and a pile of JPEGs ready for immediate sending out (assuming colour, contrast etc. is OK)

Backup

Every single file written to the card in slot 1 is simultaneously written to the card in slot 2, so you have an instant backup in whatever file format you are using. It may be overkill for those not getting paid for their images, but I would hate to have an amazing shot in the bag and see a card error, knowing it is the only copy of my image.

Summary

In short, dual slots give me more options when it comes to backup and workflow, often meaning I can travel without a laptop or tablet.

In future, I would struggle to consider a camera for use as my primary camera without this feature.

Thankfully, flying British Airways has the benefit of 2 pieces of cabin baggage, one of which may weigh up to 23kg.

I like to lay everything out on the floor and check it off on a packing list, making sure I haven’t forgotten something essential. Items that are easily replaced, or non-essential will go in the hold, everything I need to shoot and download images will come with me, preferably in just the one bag.

Throwback Thursday is a social media phenomenon, where users post an old image of themselves. Rather than subject you to countless images of an even younger me, I have decided that each Thursday I am going to subject you to an older image of mine, and how the image came about.

Poppies in bloom, Lanzarote

Lanzarote is one of the Canary Islands, and I spent a fantastic 3 years there teaching SCUBA diving. A volcanic island, it is not exactly noted for it’s greenery, however after a wet winter the whole island was covered in plants and floweers.

This image was taken on my first DSLR, a Nikon D70, with the 28-80mm lens at 80mm, and shot in JPEG.

It’s not a great image, and if I were to shoot it again there are some improvements I would make, such as using a longer lens and opening up the aperture (this was shot at f/8.0) to really throw the background out of focus. Even so, I still keep it, as it was one of the first digital images I created where I had a specific aim in mind, and it came out just as I had pictured in my mind.

I did not have a background in film photography, other than using a compact film camera for some snaps of the try-divers, and the D70 was a bit of an impulsive purchase to be honest. I am glad I did though, as it really kindled my interest in photography.